Randy Carlyle isn’t worried about tempers boiling over in a Leafs-Habs rivalry that has gained some spice in the past few games.

In the mind of the Maple Leafs coach, you can’t top this.

“I think Montreal-Toronto on a Saturday night, I don’t think it gets any better,” Carlyle said of the impending clash between the long-time rivals.

“It’s an event whether it’s Montreal or Toronto. It’s the way it should be. I think the tickets in Montreal for Toronto will be as valuable as they are at any point in the season with us going down the stretch.”

Captain Dion Phaneuf has no concerns about bad blood boiling over. Not with the two teams separated by just two points in the standings.

“It’s too important a game,” he said.

Habs coach Michel Therrien agreed.

“They have a team that can score goals and they have a very good power play,” Therrien said. “So we’ll have to be disciplined, but intense. But there’s a fine line between not taking penalties and being aggressive.

“This year they’ve been good hockey games, really intense. Teams understand, especially at this time of year, that the two points are crucial. So I’m expecting an intense game like they always are when they play us.

“ It’s always a special time when you play the Leafs, especially on Saturday night. They’re fun games to be part of, but both teams understand that this is a race to make the playoffs and the two points are always crucial.”

Life of Rielly

The sun came up in Morgan Rielly’s world on Friday, one day after he went minus-2 in a 5-4 overtime loss on Long Island.

At just 19 years of age, he knows there will be tough nights in the NHL for a kid in his rookie season. The key: Learn and move on.

“As a team we were not happy. And individually I was not happy,” he said.

“You have to learn from it. It’s tough at times when you are young. There is a lot coming at you. But we have a great leadership group. That helps.

“Time to move forward. This is a huge game coming up for us. One of the coolest things about playing in Toronto is playing Montreal.”

Down goes Gleason

Tim Gleason says he has no history with the Isles Eric Boulton. Their Thursday scrap, he said, is just part of the game.

Gleason went fist city with Boulton and was subsequently dropped to the ice.

The Leafs defenceman was sent to the “quiet room” to be checked for concussion-like symptoms before finally being allowed to return to the bench.

It was Gleason’s first fight since he was concussed in a bout with Jarred Tinordi during the pre-season. Gleason, who was with the Hurricanes at the time, was out of the Carolina lineup for most of October because of it.

“It was just one of those things,” Gleason said Friday. “ A little scuffle that ended up not working out so well for myself. Win some lose some I guess.

“I was a little rusty. I got to get a couple of those in to get back into it. I could tell last night when I got hit that I was rusty.”

Cross Checks

Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk both were given another day off from on-ice practice activities on Friday to rest up after the Olympics ... The Leafs assigned F Carter Ashton to the Marlies on Friday.

Maple Leafs expected intensity from Canadiens

Randy Carlyle isn’t worried about tempers boiling over in a Leafs-Habs rivalry that has gained some spice in the past few games.

In the mind of the Maple Leafs coach, you can’t top this.

“I think Montreal-Toronto on a Saturday night, I don’t think it gets any better,” Carlyle said of the impending clash between the long-time rivals.

“It’s an event whether it’s Montreal or Toronto. It’s the way it should be. I think the tickets in Montreal for Toronto will be as valuable as they are at any point in the season with us going down the stretch.”

Captain Dion Phaneuf has no concerns about bad blood boiling over. Not with the two teams separated by just two points in the standings.